Thursday, April 3, 2014

It's OK2Talk about Mental Health!

In our recent #OK2TALK series of community conversations, Palm Beach County spoke about the need to improve our system of care for people with behavioral health concerns.  The citizens of Palm Beach County are working together to develop creative new strategies to identify people with signs of mental illness or addiction and to connect them to help.  We want to break the link between people with mental illness and the legal system!
House and Senate leaders are negotiating the budget for the coming year. We have to make our voices heard!
Please take a few minutes of time to contact the following members, and let them know that they need to increase mental health and support increased funding for DCF mental health and behavioral health programs. People living with mental illness are counting on you!
Contact TODAY with the following key points:

Subject: It's OK2Talk about Mental Health!
The citizens of Palm Beach County are working together to develop creative new strategies to identify people with signs of mental illness or addiction and to connect them to help.
We are doing what we can to improve our system of care but we need increased funding to implement our ideas.
Mental health and addiction services have been seriously underfunded since the mental institutions were closed 4 decades ago. The promise for funding to community-based services was never fully realized.
People with mental illness and addictions will be safer and healthier with appropriately funded treatment services!
Please do what you can to increase funding for behavioral health services!
To learn more about other legislative priorities of the Mental Health Association of Palm Beach County, please click here.
Thank you.
Here are key leaders to contact and use your zip code to find your legislator and senator below (copy and paste these addresses: 'gaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov'; 'Negron.joe.web@flsenate.gov'; 'benacquisto.lizbeth.web@flsenate.gov'; 'sachs.maria.web@flsenate.gov'; 'will.weatherford@myfloridahouse.gov'):
Senator Don Gaetz, Senate President gaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Joe Negron, Senate Appropriations Chair Negron.joe.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto, Senate Majority Leader benacquisto.lizbeth.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Maria Lorts Sachs, Senate Minority Leader sachs.maria.web@flsenate.gov
Representative Will Weatherford, House Speaker will.weatherford@myfloridahouse.gov
Also be sure to write to your district senator and representative!
Find your senator:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/Find
Find your representative:
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/myrepresentative.aspx
If you can, please copy MHAPBC (info@mhapbc.org) and your local Senator and House member on your email. Thank you!